Documentary Evening (continued)14th November 2013

I always wonder, as an evening of films approaches, whether or not a sufficient number of our noble members will have had time to complete a film! Would we one day turn up and find that nobody has had the time?!For myself, I had had two possible documentaries in mind, but I had only managed to complete one of them of course ... late on in the afternoon when it was to be shown! The other one will have to wait till next year.

For this Documentary Evening, however, I need not have worried. We had no less than five films to be shown, all of fairly substantial length. Our evening was to be full! They were to be films on a charity assault course, getting 3D effects from 2D photographs, looking after orphan hedgehogs, exploring your family tree on the internet ... and a film about Australia's Sydney.

The first film was from Dave Smith ... and he was recording what one might call a Charity Run, in a film called "Fund Raisers". Except that it was't really a charity run at all ... it was a very grueling and physical assault course! The participants were to be battered, manhandled, exhausted in their 'Push for Peace' which was emblazoned on every shirt-front ... before it was to disappear under mud! Dave was commended for his 'getting in among them' and his varies angles!Next was Stephen's film - my film - in which I tried to explore how two-dimensional photographs (usually black & white) are given more life in documentaries by cutting them into layers & moving the camera slightly to give a 3D effect. It works! ... I did it (with some degree of success). I also strayed into glancing at more elaborate CGI (computer-generated images) which do the same thing in multi-layers! Wow! Penny's film was a detailed look at how a very dedicated woman gives her life to the care and nurturing of orphan hedgehogs! This kindly lady spoke at length about how she receives the little creatures, brings them to health and maturity, prepares them for release into the wild. (I was surprised to discover that there were no shots of any cats at any stage of this film!)Christine's film (which won the highest score of the evening) was about how she had used the internet to find out about her ancestors and to create a family tree. Much of the film was of Christine's laptop screen ... but this did not lessen the fascination with a subject which fascinates most of us ... and which many of us have always meant to do ourselves .... when we retired! Well, what are some of us waiting for? Christine has shown us how! Most interesting of all, both for Christine and for us, was the discovery that one of her ancestors was a musician of some note in the 1770s. Well, you can sort of see in Christine's demeanor something of fame, of creativity ... and she was & is a 'sound' lady! Last film of all was Ed's film on ... a city. It was his longest film ever (he's always hitting new targets, is Ed!) and was unusual in its teasing of the minds of the audience - before revealing that the city in question was Sydney, Australia, rather than London, England! [Note John Astin's advice below on "grabbing the audience early & engaging their intellects".] This was a really interesting film of the city, its people and its buildings.A great evening again - all films being well received and arousing a lot of enthusiasm and discussion. Now we look forward to the AGM!

We knew which city we were in by the time we saw this view!

Both men and women are hauled unceremoniously over massive obstacles!

If it wasn't raining, then fire-hoses were used to make life very difficult!

2D to 3D setup ... camera on rail & placed before a figure cut out from its background. Move camera ... 3D!

Back to the best of health ...

... because of this lovely lady!

Screen shot of part of the family tree, going back to the 1700s at least.

John Fentum ... the man himself!

A selection of Christine's ancient photographs, part of her research.

Hmm! Something to be preserved in history-starved Australia ... a gents' loo!

These astonishing Sydney trees were called Morton Bay Fig Trees I think!

John Astin on Successful Editing31st October 2013

John A himself, plus camera. No tripod used in this film!

John A, the President of PBFM , is well known throughout The North Thames Region and within BIAFF. And he certainly knows how to make films! We could therefore be quite certain that we were going to learn a good deal from our evening on the subject of editing ... It's not an easy subject to lecture on, unless, perhaps, you are going to 'show how it is done' on the screen in your own pet editing program - which can leave many members a bit out in the cold ... but John showed us an impressive new film he had made this year (on the modest looking camera pictured here in his hands) during a cruise along the north coast of Norway. Then, using short clips from the film, he showed us how he approaches his editing. It was fascinating!

I won't try to teach you all that John imparted to us over the evening ... you really needed to be there! John has tremendous skills in film-making and he devotes a great deal of time to the planning and creation of his productions. Like several of us, he uses a hi-def camera (so well suited to films which record the grandeur of Nature in particular) ... and has a sophisticated editing suite ... and Time! John started by praising the wonderful convenience of the modern SD card-recording camera ... one card for a whole holiday ... and it can be searched and skimmed in minutes (as I have done to select the still-shots in this article). And the sharpness of hi-def in recording everything, from glorious land- and sea-scapes - right down to individual textures is, frankly, astonishing and delightful! John spoke of how he makes notes every night of what he has filmed during that day; spider diagrams to aid the creation of structure and of the importance of map-making. He spoke of grabbing the audience early & engaging their intellects, not speaking too much in commentary, the choice of music. We saw him in his computing room - a privilege! We learnt how to use six clips in a 14 second gap instead of two ... about pacing ... on showing 2 seconds of a postman instead of 14 (a brilliant point made there!); and of the final use of a frame-stabilising program. (One of our members could hardly believe that no tripod had been used in the making of the film ... but many of us know how tripods are often impossible in many situations, create unwelcome attention, make the film-maker far too conspicuous ... and, actually, the modern camera is pretty easy to hold still!)John gave us a really great evening ... and yet another brilliant film. Many thanks! SH

A map is vital, so that the audience know where they are!

John used an impressive snow-clearing moment to demonstrate how & when to use a dissolve

There was a beautifully filmed dog-hauled journey ... and the dogs themselves were the stars!

This shot is a fine example of the wonder of hi-def ... every building in sharp focus, every texture - metal, water, ice - evident ... especially on the big screen!

About half of the audience just before the evening began. (Michael sits modestly at the back!)

It was our privilege to host The Pinner Plate this year and we came to it in high hopes that we would end the evening with the trophy! Each team presents a programme of films of a maximum 40 minutes length ... and then a visiting judge (this time Michael Crowe) has to decide which has been the most entertaining ... not an easy task!Harrow's programme came first, before the interval, and it was from these films that I have taken some screen shots, since all of our films were known to us and have been illustrated before on these pages!

Harrow's opening film was "On Safari at Woburn", an attractively presentedaccount of a day there ... and this was followed by "The Nearest we got to The Olympics". The latter traced the progress of one or two of those very happy torch-carriers for whom this was such a momentous occasion. "Morpho & Friends" visited Wisbech ... and, in particular, provided some stunning close-up pictures of butterflies! Imagine these pictures on the big screen! "Antarctic Journey" was bound to be unusual & interesting. Not many of us have the money or the sense of adventure to visit this area of the world, but this film was to provide us with some stunning views on land, on ship and in kayaks of that amazing area of The Earth. Perhaps the most impressive was a shot of an unimaginatively massive chunk of the glacier collapsing into the sea ... billions of tons I would imagine. Many of the tourists were in kayaks at the time!S.O.N. followed, an interesting account of how a strong & determined public group are trying to stop the building of a huge supermarket complex at the expense of many individual businesses and the community! It's one of the jobs of local film-makers to expose such actions ... and this film set out to do it!

This tiny picture can hardly do justice to the vastness of Antarctica!

We saw a lot of him (or her), watching the humans in their big ship with lazy interest ...

More dignity ... one of the deserving torch-bearers.

Again, Nature is the best Artist!

He likes it there though!

The Save our Neighbourhood spokesman ... and the area in danger.

Of course, after the interval, Potters Bars' films were to follow. Our programme consisted of "Lavender Blue" by Christine, "Overheard on a Saltmarsh" by Ed K, "Olympic London" by John A, "Composed on Westminster Bridge" by Lyn, "Meditation" by Stephen and "Moving On" by 'Team A' . To cut a long story short, PBFM were the winners of The Pinner Plate this year ... and Michael put it down, mainly, to "Moving On", which is certainly a film that I think is outstanding ... but then, so is "Olympic London" ... and I like the first two, Lavender Blue & Saltmarsh more & more every time I see them ... which is an interesting thing about many amateur films - they grow on you ... you see more & more each time you have a chance to view them! Many thanks to Michael Crowe for his judging and for his interesting comments. And many thanks to Harrow Cine & Video Club for being such nice visitors ... & to Tom Kovacs for being so graceful and charming in defeat ... though I think that he intends to turn the tables next year! Another lovely evening! SH

Tom, graceful in defeat, presents the plate to Edward.

Tom, Edward and Michael. Thanks to all of them!

"Pot Luck" andOpen Day ... Our Festival of Films October 5th & 7th

JP has arranged & set up the Open Day so often that he can do it with his eyes shut !

Now it doesn't often happen ... but it was bound to happen some time! Your webmaster missed a meeting... to wit, the "Pot Luck" one! I hate missing our meetings, for obvious reasons ... the main one being that they are so enjoyable ... but three of our members, including me, were on a boat in Northamptonshire that day. Perhaps another member will speed an account of this evening to me over the ether so that the world may read of it! I understand that it was very successful ... of course! And the Open Day? Our Festival of Film ... well, I only made the afternoon meeting because I had one of those Ofsted Inspections looming over me! (Over now, thank goodness - now, on this day of writing!) So when I have returned to my senses, I (or we) may be able to supply the world with more detail! The films were a pleasure to see. By October 19th, no accounts of these two meetings have yet come to me, so perhaps we must be content with what is here! Thanks, Kim, for the new photos!

The Master & The Apprentice prepare the screen area. It's not PBCVS any more of course ... that was just testing the pic on the screen (or on my back!).

Marie & Heather sort out the Raffle Tickets ...

"SOUND" September 19th 2013

The Man Himself, six-gun at his side ...

I know that I'm a bit lazy as a film-maker, just like to carry around my Canon HF200 and a tripod ... sometimes even the very fine mike which Edward's organisation so kindly supplied me with ... but this Thursday I (well, all of us really) were to be thrown in at the deep end, so to speak. Edward had arranged a speaker for the club on the subject of SOUND ... and the gentleman concerned arrived hungry & thirsty just a few minutes before 7.45 after a very hard day's work at the very coal-face of Sound. He is a consummate professional (both theoretical and practical) on that subject! He came, he saw, he spoke! And we simple folk sat and we listened, stunned (many of us) at first by his assumption of some knowledge within our simple brains ... but then increasingly in awe of his experience and the many stories he had to tell and the cascade of advice he had to offer ...

His name ... is Jim ... and he has been the sound-man on many different and famous programmes: Blue Peter and Country File to name but two! As I was saying, the opening was a bit mind-bending for anyone expecting to be introduced gently ... Jim was off, showing us into his world of modern hi-tech equipment, throwing in advice, telling stories, demonstrating what was what ... and all in a cloud, a host of initials and technical language! We were shown, I do remember, his SQM, heard of his time codes and about "pluraleges" (I think).... compares w.f.? I think that Christine & John A might have been keeping up ... and Edward seemed to be able to drop in his own erudite contributions too! I was impressed and felt a little ignorant for a while ... just an English teacher after all! ... I did pick up that DSLRs were pretty good for HD movies but awful for sound. Fortunately, none of us uses one! We learnt how things progressed from the 1950s (cameras attached to tape recorders) to the 1980s (recorder now in camera). We learnt of Jim's time working on a Bond film, hotel life, mikes constantly adjusted for noisy clothes with radio mikes. We learnt about closed-back headphones & how vital they are, of building up 'wild' or 'atmos' tracks. And we gathered that, on that very day, Jim had been filming about hare-coursing for Country File. We also learnt of the dangers of leaving radio mikes switched on (esp in the toilets ... the George Brown syndrome ...) At the break, Jim was inundated with interested members ... and after the break we had some more! I fancy that, really, Edward should be writing this up to make some real sense, understanding and order! It was a great evening: entertaining, lively and much enjoyed. Many thanks for your precious time, Jim!SH

Film to a Record or Poem4th September 2013

Well now ... we'd all had a bit of a break since July, all had time to get out the camcorders & take advantage of the sun! ... Had we done it?The answer to that question is that some of us had and some of us hadn't!... But to the credit of the club, we had no fewer than TEN films brought in to this evening's competition! And three of them were from Dave, in the graduate section, and I must say that I enjoyed them all.

First: "People", a truly lovely film to the song "People who need People". For me, this was one of the very best films of the evening, touching, beautifully edited and a series of delightful moving portraits of people of all types just 'being together'!

This scene was right near the end ... people working and playing together at a huge public mud-wading course! Wonderful!

A wonderful portrait of a mother comforting a little boy who has grazed his knee!

I couldn't resist this portrait ... he was with somebody else (who looked just as dramatic) but not in the same frame at the same time!

Another creation from Penny's 'Kinky Boots' film (the rest below!)

Dave's next film was "Thoughts of a Married Women" ... starring Dave himself & his wife, who (in the film) clearly harboured thoughts of murder ... well, she actually did the deed, though the actual connecting of the blows were left to our imagination! The last of Dave's films was called, simply, "Roger" and starred a very talented guitarist playing "You are Beautiful" (I think!) ...and so was his playing, even if he was sitting on the floor - as the picture shows! Next we had a film from Andrew which reminded me of The Beatles' "Hard Day's Night", a loose-limbed, running around story about job-seeking ... perhaps it had a touch of Mike Leigh as well ... I'm not quite certain if anyone actually got a job in the end, but they certainly had fun! "Boys' Day Out" was a film from John P - one of two, for he also made "Mud, Glorious Mud" which featured the same iconic vehicles! There is something rather heroic about Land Rovers & Range Rovers, the design of which spread half way through the last century! They are not, we may be told by experts, the most reliable 4x4s in the world, yet still they seem to hold on to the iconic reputation ... and we enjoyed watching them! "Kinky Boots" was Penny's film ... she had being borrowing boots from us all for months ... and this was the delightful culmination of her very considerable labours! I loved it ... it was stylish, beautifully designed and, best of all, it closed with my lovely granddaughter's Minnie Mouse boots! Who could ask for more? Ed, lately returned from Australia again, gave us a film to "The First Time ever I saw your Face" which included some very touching images as well as some unexpected ones, as he considered the different type of 'faces' that some people enjoy ... from doll's faces to the face of a rose!

It's a bit blurred because she was moving ... but that's a real hatchet in her hand!

Roger and his guitar ...

John P himself dismounts from his steed. I wonder if he was feeling a bit sea-sick!

... And poor old Dave wakes just as the weapon descends to close his eyes for ever!

Bluetones Big Score ... in a bus shelter!

Land Rover meets Range Rover on a flat part of the course!

And the closing ones. She's grown out of these boots now!

My favourite contemplation of faces ... mother & child ...

And so to "Anglesey Abbey" from, John A, another fine example of how to film from all angles, how to frame & compose, how to take advantage of special effects & different lighting. This one won the evening ... for me, closely chased by at least three others, hot on its heels!

The title screen ... special effects in the editor I assume ...

... And then the special effects from other Nature, a low shot to give us close-ups of the flowers themselves.

Perhaps the most important film of the evening for many of us came from Lyn, called "This is My Daughter's Wedding Day" ... a poem spoken by Edward and starring Jo & Tim (who have featured in several club films with much distinction!). It was indeed a great day for the couple, the family & all who attended ... and the film was lovely too, framed and punctuated by hearts and other drifting romantic images. SH.

The beautiful bride arrives, with proud father & bridesmaids

The signing of the register

"My Favourite Things" - an Evening with John PJuly 18th

Who else would we choose to look back over several decades of filming but our revered technician & projectionist, John P? And, of course, it seemed only right that, as well as the usual modern hi-def projector, our eyes were met when we arrived by this rather magnificent Eumig projector - with all that that implies about threading the film through the gates, etc etc ...

Films from the Last Century ...

Well, of course, 'the last century' isn't really long ago, only about thirteen years, but a great deal has happened in amateur filming since the 1950s! Our opening film on the Eumig was of an air display in super-wide screen, a super-8 stereo sound projector, using an anamorphic lens which produced a cinemascope size picture, 2.66:1! (No pics available for this site!) Secondly we were treated to a 1953 film of a scout trip (this on 9.5mm). I just love those titles, written in chalk on a scout hut door! Now there's a 10/10 for titling! There was also an exciting splash of colour for a Noble Scout Salute of the Flag ... so much a thing of its time! Then there was a film showing an Austrian skiing holiday (9.5mm again) unusual in those days (1956). Many of the clips were rather of the silhouette variety, because of the bright snow, but it was a nostalgic record of a holiday only eleven years after the War! Next was a scout outing to Helvelyn (on Standard 8, colour, silent) and, as the picture captions relate, we've moved on in Health & Safety to more comfortable & safer transport. By the time the film has been transferred to DVD it is fairly blurry by modern standards, especially compared with hi-def ... but, again, it's a fine record of all that went on ... Now to John's real "favourite things", his grandchildren ... and here we see, in three films, how movie cameras record the history of a family - 1995 (Super VHS), 2005 (Mini DV) and 2013 (hi-def on an SD card, no moving parts)! And that was Part 1 of John's evening, a really interesting travel through both time and through the development of technology too!In Part 2, John showed us clips from his favourite films ... and these included Gene Kelly in "Anchors Aweigh" in 1945, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" from 1954, "Grease" (1978), two extracts from "Mack & Mabel" ... and more! Clearly John is a great admirer of big sing & dance routines ... they were, indeed, pretty stunning!We had [another!] great evening with John and we thank him for the considerable amount of effort that went into preparing this entertainment for us. This is our last meeting to watch films until September ... and we trust that members will be busy preparing films over the summer break! Film to a Poem/Record is our first meeting and we look for lots of entries! SH

In 2013 we just add titles digitally ... in those days you had to be more inventive ... and John P clearly was!

The Scout Salute of the Flag. Those were the days!

Skiing: when their train broke down, they had to wait for the rescue engine. This is it!

And look! ... instead of a removal van, they're in two early Transits! A sign of how the rules have changed!

And of course, with filming you see them move and grow ... 2005 ...

... and we're on hi-def SD cards!

Can you believe that the scouts actually travelled in this vehicle?! Health & Safety eat your hearts out!

A shadow of JP himself, filmed from the ski-lift ... the only indication we have of what he looked like in the 50's!

Scouts to Helvelyn 1973 ... up the slopes!

A film "I am Blessed" ... grandchildren, 1995

And suddenly it's Now ... and the same grandchildren are playing Brahms ...

Table-Top Filming - July 4th

These two very smart slot cars represent what was at the heart of our activity tonight ... the practising of filming activities on and around a table. Two years ago John P arranged a OO gauge layout and we filmed its setting up and its running. Tonight it was Scalectrix cars, again arranged by John P, but provided & presented by his son, David to create a very pleasant evening ... so we all gathered round the table, about six of us, and were told that we might like to 'put a track together'. Well, most of us had met Scalectrix before, of course, but it was a long time ago ...

. .

David ... the man himself ...

It was to be Scalectrix, then, that would be at the end of our lenses for the greater part of the evening, introduced by David, its owner. Of course, it's changed since we were boys ... it's now connected to a computer which sets up the teams, starts the race on lights - just like Formula 1 - and counts the laps, announcing the winner too ... a far cry from the '60s! And the cars are much better too, quieter, smoother, more sophisticated ... especially the Safety Car, which can 'learn' the new course you have designed in two steady laps, then run round it fast & perfectly! There's clever!Were there any problems? ... well, yes there were! It was the speed of these astonishing models you see! Look at the pic below, a still photo of some same scale cars. The two blurs on the track in the background, under the yellow arrows ... they're the slot cars! Wow!

Now we've all got pretty good cameras, but is auto-focus really supposed to keep up with speeds like that ... or our panning? It certainly wasn't at all easy! However, the evening was really good fun, enjoyed by all I think. And both male & female members enjoyed racing the cars too, perhaps even more than filming them! We offer our great thanks to David for bringing all the kit ... and for trusting even his best cars to our amateur driving antics. There were one or two crashes ... no names, no pack-drill ...

Dave & Ian wisely filming from a distance!

JP introducing his son ... behind him the projected computer screen with all the details of the teams, many of them ourselves!

We build the course. Have you ever tried building a course with six or so other eager lads? It was chaos! ... until we all gave in to the most dominant Alpha males (and we all are of course!).

Assembling the track was both easy & difficult at the same time. It was a knack ... just like taking it to pieces afterwards!

Christine & John F talk about something really very important indeed ... I'm not sure what!

Note: Previous meeting reports are on a different page ... the "Meetings Jan to June 2013" button below.